After claiming pole position last Monday, Scott Dixon looked hopeful to win the 101st Indianapolis 500 and repeat his success of 2008 where he won from pole position.
But after leading early into the race, Dixon was taken out by Jay Howard after his car got up out of the groove in Turn 1, contacting the outside wall, and barreling down into the path of Dixon’s car — the result was a wild ride up and over Howard, sending Dixon flying through the air and plummeting down onto a barrier which damn near ripped the car in half.
Helio Castroneves can be seen driving completely underneath Dixon as he is airborne and run off into the grass to avoid being collected in the incident.
Thankfully all drivers involved were able to emerge unaided and the race was red-flagged in order for repairs to be made to the barrier and fencing.
As for the cause of the incident, Howard blamed Ryan Hunter-Reay for pushing him up in the gray, saying: “We were out there just trying to pick up some laps and see if we get some yellows and try to salvage something from the race. Hunter-Reay comes, gets a run on me [and] I lift, let him go trying to be the nice guy. And then he merged right over on me and pushed me out in all the gray and all the marbles. And the rest is history … [causing] a massive accident.
“To say I’m unhappy is an understatement.”
Dixon remained a lot calmer and humble following the horrifying accident, telling local media that he was “Just bummed” and “Glad [that] everybody is okay. It was definitely a wild ride for sure. Big thanks to Dallara and everybody for the safety we have right now.”
See just how lucky he was in the footage below:
REPLAY: @scottdixon9 incident in turn 1 at @IMS #Indy500 #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/JaK8lfx4nt
— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 28, 2017